


The Perils of Profile Pictures

by MizushimaHikari



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Photo Shoots, Photography, Pictures, Pre-Relationship, Roommates, Senpai Notice Me, Social Media, and it made me supersad, i read a bunch of forum threads about not getting likes on profiles pictures, image crafting, phichit is wonderful, social media anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 14:49:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9186956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MizushimaHikari/pseuds/MizushimaHikari
Summary: In a harebrained scheme to attract his inspiration’s attention on SNS, Yuuri enlists Phichit’s help in taking the perfect profile picture.





	

“Phichit, I want you to help me get Viktor’s attention!” 

Yuuri wasn’t sure what came over him that peaceful night. His roommate and close friend Phichit Chulanont was already half asleep, exhausted after a long day of training in preparation for the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. Yuuri himself had spent hours studying for his upcoming midterms for his final semester of college. 

Phichit yawned and struggled to open his eyes. “Yuuri, what are you even saying? How do you expect me to help you with that?” 

“You can tell me how to get his attention on SNS!” 

His roommate instantly sat up, banishing all signs of drowsiness. “Hmm,” he hummed as he tapped his index finger on his chin, “You want to do something that falls in line with your regular SNS activity. You don’t normally make status updates or tag people, so… It’s a long shot, but how about a new profile picture? Everyone changes profile pictures.” 

“That’s genius! Could you take a picture of me?” 

“Yuuri, we’re both busy…” Phichit slumped over, ready to drift off into the world of dreams. 

“Please? I’m lousy at taking selfies, and you’re the master of Instagram!” 

Phichit smirked; everything Yuuri just said was completely true. “Alright. I have a rest day on Saturday. Let’s have a photo shoot then.” 

“Thank you!” Yuuri exclaimed. 

“I’m going to sleep for real now. Goodnight…” With that, Phichit dozed off. 

Yuuri flicked off the light in their room and went to bed himself. Nevertheless, even in the warm embrace of the pillows and covers, he lay there, wide awake, wondering what exactly had possessed him to make such a strange request. 

It had been about two months since his disastrous outing at the Grand Prix Final and his subsequent failure at Japanese Nationals. Unlike Phichit, Yuuri hadn’t qualified to represent his nation at Four Continents or Worlds. Instead, he had decided to focus on his studies and rethink his skating career. 

He was going to complete his degree, but he was no closer figuring out his place on the ice – if he had a place there, that is. After months of not preparing for competitions, Yuuri’s skating physique was now encased in a slight but definite layer of fat. Even if he were to earn the privilege of skating on the same ice as Viktor Nikiforov (which he had not, thanks to his unfortunate performance at Japanese Nationals), he wasn’t sure he’d be comfortable exhibiting doughy, out-of-shape Katsuki Yuuri to the world. 

Even his SNS feel stagnant. Sure, he was friends with all of the other skaters, including Viktor. (Phichit had sent friend requests to practically every skater, junior or senior, when Yuuri left his phone unguarded.) But he never posted anything. Even his profile picture was his JSF picture, taken several years ago, back when he was younger and thinner and more hopeful. 

Yes, it was time for a change…

On Saturday morning, Phichit woke up far too early, waking Yuuri as he fussed with his fancy camera. 

“What’s that metallic sound?” Yuuri mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. 

“I’m playing with my camera lens,” Phichit responded absentmindedly. Only then did he realize Yuuri was up. “Oh, you’re awake! Good timing. We need to pick out your outfit,” he announced. 

Yuuri’s eyes fluttered in confusion. “Outfit?” 

“Yes,” his roommate said emphatically. 

“I thought I’d get pictures of me in my free skate costume.” 

Phichit facepalmed. “Yuuri, have you looked at anyone else’s profile picture? No one uses a picture of them on the ice. No one looks good skating! There are thousands of blogs devoted to the faces we skaters make in the middle of jumps!” 

“Oh…” 

“I recommend going on campus and taking a picture of you as a college student.” 

Yuuri raised an eyebrow. “Whatever you say, I guess. I trust your judgment.” 

Phichit grinned. “Great! Put this on.” He rather roughly threw a blue button-down shirt and slacks in Yuuri’s general direction. 

With his thumbs and index fingers acting as forceps, Yuuri picked up the clothing and went to the bathroom to change. The shirt skimmed his frame, giving him the illusion of broad shoulders and a smooth silhouette. The pants fit him as well, except perhaps they clung to his derriere a little too scandalously. He slicked back his hair, just as he did for figure skating competitions. After that, he willed himself to look in the mirror. 

He still looked like Katsuki Yuuri. Perhaps less dorky, but still…

He sighed and left the bathroom. In their shared room, Phichit was stuffing camera equipment into a bag. “Yuuri! Bring your backpack and glasses! Let’s go now!” 

The two friends walked to the university, enjoying the early spring day that had blossomed in the middle of a snowy winter. The entire way, Phichit chattered about his hamsters and his dreams for bringing skating to Thailand and his ideas for his programs next season. (He wanted to skate to music from The King and the Skater, which was pretty neat!) 

This was nice. He made a mental note to himself to spend more time with his friend. 

Once they stepped foot on campus, Phichit took on an all-business demeanor, directing Yuuri into a series of poses at every vaguely scenic location he could find. 

“Stand in front of the bear statue and look over your shoulder!” 

“Cross your arms in front of the engineering department! Pretend you’re a businessman!” 

“Yuuri! Smirk more! You’re the world’s greatest gift!” 

Good grief, how could taking pictures be this taxing?! It had been five hours! The corners of Yuuri’s lips were involuntarily twitching from all the smiling and smirking and pouting. It was a cool day, so why was he oozing sweat? 

Behind him, Phichit called out, “How about this…” his voice diminished. “Yuuri, you look tired. Let’s call it a day.” 

With that, they headed back, Yuuri profusely babbling his gratitude. 

That evening, Yuuri prepared dinner while Phichit scrutinized every one of the photos he took. Before even half an hour had passed, Phichit declared, “You should use this picture!” 

“Eh? That was fast! I’m not even done with dinner yet.” 

“This one’s definitely the best.” 

“Let me see!” Yuuri began pacing towards Phichit. 

“Don’t burn dinner!” Phichit scolded playfully. 

After making dinner (which, by the way, was definitely undercooked, not that Yuuri was going to complain about his own cooking), Phichit showed his friend the laptop screen. A smile spread across Yuuri’s face. This was it. 

With a smile, Phichit nudged the laptop towards Yuuri. “You can change your picture now. I know you want to.” 

“Thank you!” Yuuri eagerly logged into his SNS account. A few keystrokes later, his profile picture was no longer that bland JSF mug shot. It was him at his casual best, standing in front of a background of columns, the front of the monumental student center. His hair was done like figure skater Yuuri’s, but he wore glasses, slightly slipping off his nose, a hybrid of his on-ice persona and his off-ice character. A backpack slung over one shoulder, books in his arms, a broad, confident, even cocky smile, the gleam in his eyes – he looked like a happy college student, ready to take on the world. 

Gradually, Yuuri remembered that he was absurdly giddy about a freaking picture. Embarrassed, he hurriedly logged off of Phichit’s laptop and handed it back. 

Yuuri spent the evening trying very hard to study and failing miserably. His thoughts kept flitting back to his new profile picture. Maybe it would garner lots of Internet love! Maybe a certain five-time Grand Prix Final winner would like it. His fingers stealthily danced towards his phone…

He shook his head and snatched his hand back. No, he was going to finish this chapter of differential equations before checking SNS. 

Partial differential equations never looked this boring, but he trudged his way to the end of the chapter. Immediately, Yuuri slammed the book shut and pounced on his bed, phone in hand. As the SNS app loaded, he savored the rush of anticipation, just like a child opening presents on Christmas morning. 

Hey, he had forty-something likes on the picture! Nothing compared to Phichit but more than he had ever gotten in the past. There were even comments: 

Phichit Chulanont: photo creds! 

Sara Crispino: looking good yuuri! 

Michele Crispino: SARA WTF

Christophe Giacometti: ;D

Yuuri skimmed the list of people who liked his photo. And then he read it again, much more slowly. 

At last, he wailed, “VIKTOR DIDN’T LIKE IT!” 

Phichit flinched, inadvertently throwing his phone into the nearest wall. “What are you talking about?” 

“Viktor hasn’t liked my profile picture or anything! He likes practically everyone’s pictures! He liked your photos and Christophe’s photos yesterday!” Yuuri gasped and covered his stupid blabbermouth. Now, Phichit would know that he stalked Viktor on SNS. 

(Then again, it wouldn’t be news to Phichit that Yuuri was Viktor’s fanboy – the room was two-thirds wallpapered in Viktor Nikiforov posters.) 

“Calm down, Yuuri! I’m sure he’s busy!” Phichit said with a chuckle. 

Ignoring his friend, he waxed melodramatic. “I bet Viktor doesn’t even know I exist! I’m just some shoddy, dime-a-dozen, last place figure skating nobody. I should just crawl under a rock…”

“Yuuri!” Phichit interrupted, sounding much more authoritative than normal. “Don’t talk about yourself like that. You and I both know this probably wasn’t going to work. If you want his attention, maybe you should skate his routine or something.” 

More gently, he said, “You’re not a figure skating nobody. The Grand Prix Final didn’t go the way you wanted it to, but you qualified for it. I didn’t even make it. We’re both going to work hard to make it next year. You’ll get to meet him again.” 

“Thanks, Phichit,” Yuuri muttered mournfully. 

“Go to bed! Everything will be better in the morning!” Before his friend could protest, Phichit turned off the light. 

Yuuri rolled over and hugged his Vicchan plushie more tightly, trying hard not to ruminate on life, the ephemeral and terrible journey everyone faces alone. Maybe tonight he would dream of Viktor. Only in his dreams could they exist as equals on the same playing field…

He woke up with a headache. As usual, he checked his email. Nothing interesting. Then SNS and – 

“Oh my god!” yelped Yuuri, inevitably waking up everyone on the floor, not to mention Phichit. 

“What?” 

“Viktor liked my profile picture! And he left a comment!” 

Phichit muttered, “Oh yeah, time zones,” but Yuuri wasn’t listening. He was scanning through the comments: 

Yuri Plisetsky: stop wasting time! where r ur new programs?! 

Viktor Nikiforov: so this is where you’ve been since GPF ;) you’re entrancing even in daylight

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed my attempt at capturing the emotions behind changing profile pictures and the feelings when a certain someone notices (or ignores) you. Would love to hear if this resonated with anyone! 
> 
> (Also, I wouldn’t normally ask for this, but I would really like it if any of my readers drew Yuuri’s college student profile picture. ._.)


End file.
